Renter facing price hike reveals ‘exhausting’ $7,000 singles tax facing millions in growing Aussie trend
Brisbane woman Kate Fancourt has been renting by herself for two years and is currently trying to negotiate down a rent increase. (Source: Supplied/Kate Fancourt)
An Australian renter battling a price increase has opened up about the “exhausting” financial and mental burden experienced by single people. The so-called “singles tax” is estimated to place an extra $7,961 per year on single-income Aussies, compared to their coupled-up counterparts.
Brisbane woman Kate Fancourt has been renting solo for two years. The 31-year-old business coordinator told Yahoo Finance she was currently in the process of trying to negotiate down a $40 a week rent increase.
“I think the biggest thing being a single renter is obviously the financial load but also the mental load because I’m attempting to negotiate with someone but I’ve got to do all my other life admin and I’ve got to figure out everything else going on in my life,” she said.
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“While these negotiations are happening, I’m also trying to rejig all of my other bills to make sure it kind of evens out.
“So it just feels like a huge mental load trying to fight for just me, when I could have someone share that responsibility with me at some point, that would just lighten the load.”
Fancourt has been single for four years and previously lived with a partner, with the couple renting together and later purchasing a home together.
Fancourt said living by yourself brought additional financial and mental pressures. (Source: Supplied/Kate Fancourt)
“It was just so much easier and so much, I wouldn’t say cheaper, just it was manageable and if my income was going to be less one week, I had someone else to rely on, whereas now I just can’t afford to do that,” she said.
The 31-year-old currently rents a one-bedroom duplex in Moreton Bay for $335 per week, with her real estate agent advising her that rent would increase to $375 per week from next month.
She wasn’t able to afford to rent a place by herself closer to Brisbane city and was previously knocked back for upwards of 30 rentals when applying as a single.
If she’s unable to negotiate her rent increase down, Fancourt is planning to ask to resign a six-month lease and then look elsewhere.
The ‘singles tax’ refers to the higher costs single people face compared to couples or families. One of the biggest drivers of the added cost is the fact that singles can’t split everyday costs like rent, utilities and groceries.
Single-person households have been increasing in Australia, with the latest Census data showing one in four (26 per cent) households were now occupied by one person. This was up from 18 per cent in 1981.
Analysis of Australian Bureau of Statistics data by RMIT economist Alicia Bubb found that singles spend about 3 per cent more per person on goods and services compared to couples. And compared to couples with kids, single parents spend about 19 per cent more per person.
Research from iSelect found single Aussies with no kids paid an estimated total of $7,691 more per year compared to double-income earners with no kids.
Singles were found to spend an average of $2,198 per month on common household bills and housing costs, 41 per cent more than an individual in a double-income household who would spend $1,558 per month.
Bubb noted the singles tax extended beyond “essential needs” and into the costs of travel, socialising and entertainment.
“Solo travellers, for example, may encounter something called a ‘single supplement’ – an extra fee charged for utilising an accommodation or travel product designed for two people,” she noted.
“Streaming services such as Netflix and Spotify offer family plans at slightly higher prices than individual ones, making them more cost-effective for larger households.”
Fancourt shared a video on her social media about her rental increase and the added layer of financial pressure stemming from being single. She was met with comments from dozens of Aussies who said they were in the exact same boat.
“Sometimes it’s not even the cost of things but just the mental load of doing all the decision making that makes things difficult,” one person said.
“I love living alone but it’s so tiring. Every decision is yours, every bill you have to pay it, there’s no 50/50. It’s so tiring and overwhelming,” another said. “My friends who are in relationships don’t understand that sometimes I just can’t do things because it’s too expensive. My network of people had greatly shrank because I just can’t afford to keep up”.
“It’s a struggle and I feel this in the depths of my soul. It’s exhausting,” another said.
Fancourt told Yahoo Finance that she knew there were plenty of other people out there who were struggling more than her, but hoped to shine a light on what many people were going through.
“I know that there are single parents and that could be a lot harder,” she said.
“I understand my partial privilege in this, but I think it’s still super valid that single people are finding it really difficult to rent and live with the constant cost of living rising.”
The median weekly rental value across the capitals is now $702 per week, Cotality’s latest quarterly rental review found.
Sydney remains the most expensive capital at $807 per week, with Brisbane sitting at $696 per week.
